Aerosol container sealing apparatus



1 Aprn 30, 1968 R. s. ROUSSEAU AEROSOL CONTAINER SEALING APPARATUS Filed Feb. l5, 1966 SINVENTOR ROUSSEAU United States Patent O 3,380,224 AEROSOL CONTAINER SEALING APPARATUS Roy S. Rousseau, Bettendorf, Iowa, assignor to The Kartridg Pak Co., Davenport, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed Feb. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 527,577 Claims. (Cl. 53-88) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A filling machine for aerosol containers i which employs a sealing head adapted to seat on the top of the container and carrying a vertically reciprocating collet with sealing jaws for expanding the side walls of the valve cup and a collet engaging plunger operative for crimp sealing the same to the rim of the mouth of the container, and an axially adjustable sizing device which is frictionally held in a downwardly opening axial bore in the bottom of the plunger and in turn has a downwardly opening bore for receiving the valve assembly so that it limits the movement of the valve pedestal relative to the valve cup and restrains the same against abnormal distortion or dislocation while the cup is crimp sealed onto the rim of the container mouth.

This invention relates to production packaging of aerosol products and is more particularly concerned with improvements in apparatus for filling a metered quantity of propellant into an areosol container having a valve assembly loosely seated in the mouth of the container and thereafter seating the cap forming valve cup and crimp sealing the same onto the mout-h of the container.

In one method of filling an aerosol container with a product and a propellant, the container is first provided with the desired amount of the product, the valve assembly is loosely positioned in the mouth of the container and the container is then positioned beneath a filling and sealing head which is operated to fill the container with the propellant and then crimp seal the cap forming valve cup. Oneform of apparatus designed for this purpose is described in Stanley and Rousseau Patent No. 3,157,974 which is characterized by a filling and crimping head in the form of a cylindrical housing with a container engaging and locating bell at the lower end adapted for seating in sealing relation on the top of a container while mechanism within the bell is operated to exhaust the ai-r within the container, to lift the valve assembly above the top opening in the container, to fill the container with the desired amount of propellant under pressure, and nally to crimp seal the rim of the valve cup within the rim of the top opening so as to close the container. Such apparatus has been generally satisfactory in most aerosol packaging operations. However, the crimp sealing operation expands and deforms the sides of the valve cup in order to obtain a permanent seal between the valve cup rim and the rim of the openingwhich results in changing the elevation of the valve pedestal and sometimes tiltingit so that faulty operation of the valve occurs. It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a filling and sealing head which will operate to crimp the valve cup in the container opening while avoiding any dislocation of the pedestal which will disable or cause faulty operation of the valve.

Amore specific object of the nvetion is to provide a sealing head for aerosol packaging wherein the valve cup is crimp sealed in the opening in the top of a container by a vertically reciprocating collet having expansible sealing jaws and wherein provision is made for holding the valve assembly so as to prevent distortion or dislocation beyond predetermined limits of the pedestal and associated elements of the assembly.

3,380,224 Patented Apr. 30, 1968 It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for sealing the valve assembly in the mouth of an aerosol container wherein a sealing head is employed which seats on the top of the aerosol container and which carries a vertically reciprocating collet with sealing jaws for expanding the side wall of the valve cup and crimp sealing the same to the rim at the mouth of the container, and a sizing device for association with the sealing jaws which is adjusted so that it limits the movement of the valve pedestal relative to the valve cup and restrains the same against abnormal distortion or dislocation which would result in improper operation of the valve or failure to properly discharge the contents of the charged container when actuated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide in a sealing apparatus of the type described a two piece sizing plug member which is adjustable so that it may be employed in connection with the sealing of different size valve assemblies.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the apparatus which is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a partial vertical section through a filling and sealing head for aerosol containers which is shown seated on the top of an aerosol container with a valve assembly loosely positioned in the mouth of the container just prior to crimp sealing the same, the head incorporating a sizing plug embodying the principal features of the invention, with the plug being shown in elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a partial vertical section as in FIGURE l, with the sealing plunger lowered to a position to start the crimping operation;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section as in FIGURE 1, showing a portion of the apparatus to a larger scale and with the plunger lowered to a position where the crimping operation is completed;

FIGURE 4 is a partial cross section taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2, to an enlarged scale; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the sizing plug removed from the sealing head.

Referring to FIGURE l of the drawings, there is illustrated in vertical section the lower portion of a filling and sealing head 10 comprising part of an aerosol filling and sealing apparatus which is disclosed in Patent No. 3,157,- 974 to which reference may be had for details not hereinafter described. The head 10 has incorporaed therein a sizing plug device 15 which embodies the improvement of the present invention.

The sealing head 10 includes a container locating bell 16 which is mounted for free sliding vertical movement on the exterior of a cylinder sleeve extension 17 depending on the lower end ot' a main cylinder sleeve (not shown) which is mounted on a hydraulically actuated, free sliding piston (also not shown). The locating bell 16 is spring urged downwardly for limited movement relative to the piston and the sleeve extension and carries ou its lower end an internally contoured container top engaging adapter ring 18 which is threaded within the end of the bell 16 so as to mount an internal seal ring gasket 20. The bell 16 has an annular internal pocket intermediate its length fitted with an assemblage of seal ring elements 21 that seat against a central annulus Z. A cap ring 23 is threaded into the bell to compress the seal rings 21. The annulus 22 has a radial bore 24 in register with a like bore in the `bell to for-m a passgeway into the interior of the bell for connection to a vacuum line (not shown).

A plunger assembly 25 is disposed in axial alignment with the actuating `piston so as to `be slidable axially through the head in response to hydraulic pressure. The assembly 25 includes the plunger element 26 at the lower end thereof and a segmented collet 27 which is confined within the sleeve extension 17 in encircling relation to the lower end of the plunger element 26. The collet 27 depends from a carrier ring 28 which is urged downwardly relative to the plunger element 26 by a compression spring, indicated at 30, which has its upper end seated against a thrust collar (not shown) adjustably positioned on the upper end of the plunger element 26 and which functions as a plunger return spring. The collet jaws 31 are engageable about the inside diameter of the valve cup C in which the spray valve mechanism V is mounted and which supports the valve mechanism V in the mouth forming top opening of the container R and also constitutes a cap for closing the container mouth. Upon downward movement of the plunger element 26 the collet arms 31 are spread outwardly to crimp the closure cap C into sealed relation about the mouth of the container.

The sizing plug device which is provided is adapted to be seated in a pocket forming axial bore 32 in the lower end of the plunger element 26. The plug 15 is formed of two parts 33 and 34 which are adjustably connected together. The one plug part 33 is in the form of a cylinder or sleeve with an axial bore 35 which is threaded to receive a threaded stem portion 36 of the other plug part 34, the stem portion 36 being of smaller diameter than the body portion 37 of the plug part 34. The plug part 33 has an external groove 38 for accommodating an O ring 40 which is adapted to seat in the upper on inside portion 41 of bore 32 which is of larger cross sectional diameter than the loweror outside portion 42 of the bore 32. The plug part 34 has an axial bore 43 of suiicient size to receive the valve stem S which projects above the pedestal forming portion P of the valve assembly V. The bore 43 has sufficient axial dimension to accommodate a normal size valve stem S when the bottom peripheral edge 44 is lowered into engagement with the top of the pedestal P of the valve assembly. A much smaller axial bore 45 extends from the upper end of the bore 43 to the top end of the stemportion 36 to accommodate any trapped air when the plug end is engaged with the pedestal P. To facilitate removal of the plug from the pocket in the plunger the bore 43 is internally threaded at 46 to receive the threaded end of a bolt or other tool forming device (not shown).

In using the apparatus the two parts 33 and 34 of the plug 15 are adjusted axially prior to insertion of the device in the pocket 32 so that when the plunger element 26 is lowered to the proper position for the clinching operation the bottom end 44 of the plug 15 will rest on the top of the pedestal P and prevent any appreciable upward movement or tilting which could otherwise occur when the clamp arms 31 are forced against the `rim of the valve cup C to effect the clinching.

While particular materials and specic structural details are referred to in describing the form of the device illustrated it 'will be understood that other materials and equivalent structural details may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for filling aerosol containers which apparatus includes a container top engaging bell and a vertically reciprocating collet with depending arm segments adapted to be lowered into the cup ofa valve assembly which is seated in the mouth of an aerosol container and to be expanded by a plunger reciprocating within the collet which plunger has a downwardly opening axial bore, the improvement which comprises a sizing device frictionally secured in said bore in the lower end of the plunger for holding the valve pedestal and valve elements supported thereon in predetermined position while the arm segments are expanded radially by descending movement of the plunger into engagement with the rim of the valve cup for clinching the same to the mouth defining CFI 4 portion of the container, said sizing device having an axial bore in the lower end for receiving opstanding portions of the valve assembly and said lower end being adjustable axially in the bore in said plunger so as to seat on the valve pedestal during the clinching operation.

2. In an apparatus for sealing a valve assembly in the top opening of an aerosol container which apparatus includes a sealing head adapted to be engaged with the top of a container, a clinching collet movable within a housing forming portion of the head, an axially movable plunger reciprocating within said collet which is adapted to expand said collet so as to clinch the rim of a closure forming valve cup and seal the same in the mouth of the container, the valve cup being part of a valve assembly loosely positioned in the mouth of the container and having a center pedestal supporting a valve stem, a device associated with the plunger for limiting movement of the valve stem and the supporting pedestal inthe center of the valve assembly which device is adapted to be secured in a recess in the collet engaging end of the plunger with an exposed end thereof having an axial recess for accommodating the valve stem when the head is positioned on a container and enabling the portion surrounding the mouth of said recess to be positioned closely adjacent to the top of the pedestal so as to prevent any substantial movement thereof relative to the valve cup while the clinching occurs.

3. In an apparatus as reited in claim 2, and said device for limiting the movement of the valve stern and pedestal while the clinching occurs being in two parts which are adjustable relative to each other in the direction of the axis of the plunger.

4. In an apparatus as recited in claim 2, and said device for limiting the movement of the valve stern and pedestal while the clinching occurs comprising a sleeve member which is internally threaded and carries an external member for gripping the wall of the recess in the plunger and a downwardly opening cup-shaped member with an axially aligned threaded stem forming portion adapted to engage in said sleeve member.

5. In an apparatus for filling aerosol containers which apparatus includes a container top engaging Ibell and a vertically reciprocating collet with depending arm segments adapted to be lov/ered into the cup of a valve assembly which as seated in the mouth of an aerosol container and to be expanded by a plunger reciprocating within the collet, the improvement which comprises a sizing device associated with the lower end of the plunger for holding the valve pedestal, valve elements supported thereon in predetermined position while the arm segments are expanded radially by descending movement of the plunger into engagement with the rim of the valve cup for clinching the same to the mouth defining portion of the container, said plunger having at its lower end a downwardly opening axial bore for receiving therein the sizing device, and said sizing device being in two parts which are axially adjustable to position the valve engaging lower end portion thereof at a predetermined elevation when the clinching is effected so as to limit any upward movement or tilting of the valve pedestal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,585,820 5/1926 Baum 53--330 2,963,834 12/ 1960 Stanley et al. 53--330 X 2,975,575 3/ 1961 Nalbach et al. 53-330 3,234,707 2/ 1966 Weston 53--112 TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner.

R. L. FARRIS, Assistant Examiner. 

